wireless tag

Drill down on wireless search:

If you spend any time in a developing country, you quickly discover that the majority of Internet connectivity comes via cellular connections. For many in developing countries, a smartphone effectively is their first regular connection to the Internet.

Roughly 87 percent of all broadband connections in emerging markets will be by way of cellular by 2017, according to Alcatel-Lucent forecasts. This is especially true in Latin America and the Caribbean, where the GSMA estimates that Latin America will have the second highest installed base of smartphones in the world behind only Asia Pacific by 2020.

In doing preparations for what many have called “the circus” aka the annual Mobile World Congress (MWC)—which is arguably now the most important industry trade event as the world goes mobile and which takes place in Barcelona March 2-5—the excitement is already palpable. From all of the new cool devices of all shapes and sizes to interesting advances on things like antenna technology, Network Functions Virtualization, carrier aggregation, etc., the eye candy alone is almost overwhelming in terms of imagining the possibilities. However, MWC always is tantalizing because not only does it answer what we will see in terms of capabilities in the near-term, but also because of the questions it raises about the longer term.

In this regard I was struck by a recent blog by Michael Peeters, CTO, Alcatel-Lucent Wireless, entitled I think appropriately, The Circus is in Town. Peeters’ main point is summed up nicely where he says in characterizing his view on what’s the next big thing that will be the buzz of the show that, “...one thing is certain: its story will be about removing place and time constraints we took for granted.”

The Law of 80 Percent clearly explains why in-building Internet access currently matters a lot. Mobile data traffic grew by roughly 80 percent in 2014, about 80 percent of mobile usage occurred in-building, and 80 percent of WLAN installations are at risk of not being able to handle traffic loads, according to research by ABI and Gartner.

This is a problem as Internet access expectations shift from coverage to quality and capacity. While some form of Internet access is available just about everywhere, there is a huge difference between good Internet and inadequate capacity.

Businesses are always looking for new and better ways to reduce costs and boost productivity. For decades, they’ve relied on customer premise systems that are increasingly inflexible and costly for today’s needs. Now, voice over LTE (VoLTE) and cloud changes that old scenario, enabling the enterprise CIO to implement a mobile-first strategy that includes an ever-changing application mixture. It gives enterprises a way to cut costs dramatically for employees who are on the move — while setting the stage to enhance all employees’ productivity.

This opportunity is a generational shift for Enterprises and Service Providers. I’ll discuss the mobile aspect in this blog — the second in my three-part series on the value of VoLTE. You should also check out Bryan Davies’ blog series to hear his ideas on how you can meet the changing needs of the enterprise.

The move toward 4G LTE is a seismic shift in mobile architecture inasmuch as it finally takes operators to an all-IP architecture. No more packet/TDM mix that adds complexity and slows down the network.

The rise in LTE also has meant a explosion in demand for packet core technology. Packet core revenue grew by 20 percent in the second quarter of this year compared with last year, for instance, according to research firm Dell’Oro.

The evolved packet core (EPC), as the LTE packet core is known, is both the brains and the brawn of LTE. Data goes from handsets across the backhaul network to the EPC, where the data is processed and then forwarded onto the Internet or another public or private network from the mobile provider.

Shared minutes have been a wild success for mobile operators, and the family plans have become the norm. But now consumers want shared data plans, too, since according to Alcatel-Lucent one in every four mobile users will have more than one device by 2016. Currently 60 percent of consumers want shared data plans, and that number is likely to grow.

Shared data plans are a boon for operators, so this trend should be embraced.

Users on shared plans typically opt for larger data buckets, for one. More than a quarter of subscribers for one leading carrier choose a data allowance of 10 GB per month or larger, according to a recent TechZine posting by Daisy Su Senior Strategic Marketing Manager, Corporate Marketing, Alcatel-Lucent, The Case for Shared Data Plans.

Meet the digital nomads, a growing group of heavy mobile data users that's redefining how service providers think about connectivity.

There is a small, but growing, new class of data users amongst us. You've likely spotted one – that man hunched over a laptop at your neighborhood coffee shop, the woman swiping through a tablet in the park, or even that teen on the train whose eyes are glued to a video on his larger-than-average smartphone.

They are the digital nomads. Unlike the hunters and gatherers of the past, these nomads are always connected, regardless of where they are, and their expectations for connectivity have never been higher.

The next major cellular technology advancement is on its way. Here comes Wi-Fi roaming.

Cellular users often switch between 3G or 4G networks to Wi-Fi to access the internet, especially as cloud services continue to grow in importance. The switch from a cellular service to a Wi-Fi network is not always seamless, especially when it requires first finding a network and then getting through a login screen.

But a group of new cellular technologies, in particular the 3GPP Access Network Discovery and Selection Function (ANDSF) and Hotspot 2.0, will change that with what amounts to Wi-Fi roaming, according to a white paper, “Wi-Fi Roaming – Building on ANDSF and Hotspot2.0,” jointly produced by Alcatel-Lucent and BT.

In order to succeed in the current wireless market dominated by bandwidth-hungry mobile applications, service providers need to find ways to expand network capacity while simultaneously reducing energy consumption and operating costs. This is quite a challenge to say the least.

Alcatel-Lucent's efforts in this area have resulted in some profound innovations, headlined by its new wireless networking paradigm, lightRadio™, which is designed to help service providers address growth and quality challenges.

The lightRadio technology family is comprised of innovations in antennas, radios and baseband processing, which combine to allow service providers to create next-generation architectures without the need to make complete infrastructure overhauls. Rather, lightRadio makes the most of existing wireless assets and capabilities to address cost, capacity and connectivity barriers.

In order to succeed in the current wireless market dominated by bandwidth-hungry mobile applications, service providers need to find ways to expand network capacity while simultaneously reducing energy consumption and operating costs. This is quite a challenge to say the least.

Alcatel-Lucent's efforts in this area have resulted in some profound innovations, headlined by its new wireless networking paradigm, lightRadio™, which is designed to help service providers address growth and quality challenges.

The lightRadio technology family is comprised of innovations in antennas, radios and baseband processing, which combine to allow service providers to create next-generation architectures without the need to make complete infrastructure overhauls. Rather, lightRadio makes the most of existing wireless assets and capabilities to address cost, capacity and connectivity barriers.

As a service provider, what potential opportunities emerge if you were able to improve capacity, coverage and performance? With lightRadio technologies, you can gain support for current and anticipated wireless technologies that will address quality and growth changes; combine advancements in radios, antennas and baseband processing to support cloud principles, virtualization and architectural flexibility; and enable easy reprogramming and reconfiguration of network elements.

In this Alcatel-Lucent lightRadio Technology Overview, the innovations to address service provider challenges is explored. These challenges easily include adding more radios, antennas, towers and processing capacity; increasing spectral bandwidth; supporting new technologies; and making better use of cell site capacity. The development of lightRadio by Alcatel-Lucent focuses on optimizing total network costs over time so each wireless provider can make the most of their existing assets and capabilities.

By Alice Straight The International Next Generations Network and Basestations conference is set to be held in April in Bath, England.Prominent speakers from leading operators Vodafone, Telenor Telefonica, O2, BT (British Telecom), Orange, SFR, Virgin Media, 3UK, Vimplecom, Digicel, Mobilkom Austria, Elisa,...

In the days when wireless technology, the Internet and applications rule, network operators are in a constant struggle to fulfill the demand for new Web applications. Meanwhile, application and content providers face a quandary of their own - the need to enhance the end-user experience.

These days, there's not much you can't do without a wireless connection. In an age where content is king, consumers and businesses are in the driver's seat paving the road for network operators to evolve to their needs.
As the demand for new and larger Web applications increases alongside the need for more bandwidth to support those needs, network providers have to face the inevitable: that change is on the horizon. To capture consumer attention and drive new revenue streams, network providers need to change their marketing strategies.

The first online-only edition of the publication focused on the migration of 2G and 3G wireless networks to 4G technologies, specifically LTE. The process of network transformation from legacy environments to more agile, flexible, and stable 4G technologies has been a key area of focus for Alcatel-Lucent, including a particular emphasis on consulting customers on how to best approach the Broadband Stimulus component of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

Now, five months later, a renewed focus on the product has earned touchatag a 2009 Best Products and Services Award from Network Products Guide. The award is a testament to Alcatel-Lucent's success in being able to adapt its solutions to meet evolving market needs in a next generation communications environment.

Alcatel-Lucent has introduced the latest in its portfolio of next-generation wireless communications technologies, the Alcatel-Lucent 9238 Base Station Macro. The new platform utilizes Alcatel-Lucent's software defined radio (SDR) technology, which is designed to enable wireless service providers currently using CDMA technology...

The IP transformation is upon us. As the lines between work, home life and entertainment blur, consumers are increasingly subscribing to services they can personalize on whatever communications device they choose. Wireless broadband data services are an integral part of this...

Alcatel-Lucent is committed to the emerging fourth-generation of wireless. And they seem to like Spain as a venue for making 4G-related news. Last month in Barcelona, Alcatel-Lucent made the headlines when Verizon Wireless named them to a select group of primary...

In a recent AP item, reports of a highly politicized "scramble" by telecom equipment manufacturers for their piece of a potential $41 billion pie, were set in motion by China's move to roll out third-generation or 3G mobile phone services. According...

Viettel, a leading mobile operator in Vietnam, Alcatel-Lucent and Research In Motion announced the launch of the BlackBerry wireless solution in Vietnam. Under the terms of this agreement, Alcatel-Lucent will provide integration services, leveraging its strong local presence in the...

Alcatel-Lucent, through its Chinese flagship company Alcatel Shanghai Bell, has won a significant contract for a TD-SCDMA mobile network trial in China Together with Datang Mobile, Alcatel Lucent announced that they were awarded the largest share in China Mobile's tender for...

As reported on Friday, Alcatel-Lucent plans to undergo some strategic realignment of its core efforts, and among other things it means that there will be less attention on WiMAX in favor of a strategy that calls for a stronger focus...

When faced with the need to accommodate the need to backhaul traffic from its cellular W-CDMA and High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) traffic, Telecom new Zealand turned to Alcatel-Lucent and its IP Multi-Protocol Label Switching (IP/MPLS)-based mobile backhaul solution.The solution...